Texas Bluebonnet nominee Fleur Bradley recently stopped by Gattis Elementary School to meet some of her young fans and tell them about what it takes to become a mystery author.
During her session, Bradley taught students how to brainstorm, research, and outline their stories before introducing them to typical plot points a reader might find in a mystery book.
“It’s fun being here because I get a direct connection to the readers, which I don’t usually get,” Bradley said. “I hope our lesson today inspired the kids as writers, readers, and storytellers.”
Gattis students are big fans of Bradley’s work, particularly “Daybreak on Raven Island,” which is currently nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
Fifth-grader Brynn Rivera said she thinks Bradley’s books are riveting.
“When they get to the mystery part, I want to know more,” she said. “I really liked Daybreak on Raven Island.”
The students in Aissa Fletcher’s fifth-grade Dual Language class adore Bradley’s book so much they’ve created a book club, anxious to see what happens next in the story.
“Time was limited, so we only read parts of the book in my class,” Fletcher said. “The students liked the book so much that we started looking for other ways to finish it together outside of class! We started reading together at lunch and later expanded to recess for kids who wanted to keep reading and pass the book around.”
Bradley feels honored that kids love her stories.
“As a writer, you spend so much time just in the corner sort of sitting and writing your stories. Seeing it come to life and full circle into these kids’ hands is really awesome for me,” she said.
After her lesson, she took questions from the group of budding authors, answering everything from writing questions to inquiries about some of her books and characters.
When asked what piece of advice she would give other Round Rock ISD students interested in writing a book, she had the following to offer:
“Keep reading; the more you read, the more you’ll see what good writing looks like. Afterwards, try to write your own story! I promise your story matters, and everybody wants to hear it!”
